Throughout its history, battle rap has been outside of public consciousness, a scene sometimes acknowledged by the mainstream, but largely ignored. With Joseph Kahn's battle rap movie bodied set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, we may be about the witness battle rap's best chance to enter the mainstream.
Written by Kid Twist, Bodied is described on the Toronto International Film Festival's website as "A satirical exploration of the world's most artistically brutal sport — battle rapping." Making sure to stay authentic to the artform, the movie is not only written by Twist, but it will feature a litany of battle rappers, including Dizaster, Hollow Da Don, Arsonal, Pat Stay, Loaded Lux and several others. Check out the trailer below:
Kahn is no stranger to the battle rap scene, previously casting both Dumbfoundead and Organik in his 2011 film, Detention, as well as having Madness appear in his Power Ranger short.
Much of the buzz surrounding the film is because of battle rapper turned mega-star musician Eminem signing on as a producer. Em's late inclusion has led to the film receiving quite a bit of attention as Rolling Stone, Billboard, and MTV, all platforms which ordinarily wouldn't cover battle rap, have written about it.
Whether or not Bodied proves to the be the catalyst that launches battle rap into the mainstream or not remains to be seen, but for now, it's just exciting to see such a whirlwind of mainstream media coverage for something battle related.
What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.
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